


Five Times Someone Overheard a Call to the Barton Farm

by ShootWithIntentToKill



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 5 Times, Avengers (2012) - Freeform, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, But also really good at the same time, Canon Compliant, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Clint Barton's Farm, Clint and Laura Barton's Family, Clint is really bad at keeping secrets, F/M, Gen, Iron Man 2, Natasha Romanov is an honorary Barton, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:53:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24568789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShootWithIntentToKill/pseuds/ShootWithIntentToKill
Summary: ...And one time the call didn't get through.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton & Wanda Maximoff, Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 10
Kudos: 54





	1. Natasha

**Author's Note:**

> So this is based off that scene in Age of Ultron where Steve overhears Clint on the phone, and he says that it is his "girlfriend" (you know, like a liar). It made me wonder, just how many times has Clint or Natasha been overheard talking to Clint's family at the farm, and people just can't be bothered to question it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter is Natasha, set pre-canon, shortly after she was brought into SHIELD.

It was the ringtone that made Natasha instantly suspicious. She had been at SHIELD for three months, ever since Hawkeye had decided not to kill her. She was still unsure of the reasoning behind that one – she would have killed her – and the rest of SHIELD seemed to be of the same opinion, as they hadn’t left her unsupervised outside of her quarters once in three months. The dubious honour of following her around had mostly fallen to Barton – Hawkeye – the same idiot who had brought her in. Barton claimed that it was so if she were to go on a murder spree, he would be killed first, just so that Fury could get a few minutes satisfaction that he tasted his own medicine before she killed him. Natasha was more inclined to believe that it was because Barton was one of the very few people in the building who might have a chance of stopping her. It was likely Fury had considered both those theories and more when he had set Barton as her personal escort.

The point was that Natasha had spent a lot of time with Barton. She knew that he drank his first cup of coffee pitch black to wake himself up, but after his first cup he would start adding unholy amounts of sugar. She knew that he preferred his pancakes with syrup than fruit, and could always find a rookie to dangle a crisp fifty and an impossible shot in front of. But most importantly to the current situation, she knew what his ringtone sounded like.

They were alone in the gym at the time – Natasha was running on a treadmill while Barton had found a pull up bar to do an impressive set of flips over. When the phone sounded, Natasha immediately looked around to check no one else was suddenly in the room even though she knew there wasn’t because she had been watching the door, and there were no other entrances, and no one could sneak up on her (with the exception of Barton but as far as she was concerned Barton seemed to live to break rules). She was even more surprised when the only other person in the room seemed to lose his grip on the bar, and only his quick reflexes stopped him from falling on his face on the mat below.

Of course, it wasn’t unusual for spies to have multiple phones, and the momentary surprise at the ringtone had faded even as Barton was walking over to his bag. In fact, if it hadn’t been for his reaction to the, and the way he said “I need to take this,” as he left, Natasha probably wouldn’t have thought anything of it. But Barton left the room, leaving her alone, and he hadn’t done that to answer a call in the three months she had known him. He had never seemed to care before if she overheard half of a conversation. So, Natasha gave him twenty seconds before quietly slipping out of the gym door behind him.

She didn’t have to go far. Barton had only gone around the corner from the gym entrance, perhaps just to be able to see anyone coming his way. He didn’t seem worried by anyone sneaking up from behind, and Natasha already knew that his hearing was far inferior to his eyesight. It wasn’t hard for someone as light-footed as her to get close enough to hear his side of the conversation, in a low and worried tone she hadn’t heard him use before.

“-you with at the moment?... yeah, I know her… I can talk to Fury, he did promise, but that was before Natasha and everything… If I can get a jet, s’only a couple of hours flight… I know… are you at the hospital now?... I can find someone to keep an eye on Natasha… May got back from Korea last night… she won’t be happy and I’ll owe her a big one but… yeah… I’ll talk to Fury… Stay calm… I will be there-”

Natasha recognised the sounds of the call ending, and quietly hurried back to the gym and hopped back onto the treadmill. Barton walked back in barely seconds later, but gave no indication that he had noticed her spying. In fact, he looked preoccupied like Natasha had never seen him, slowly weighing the phone in his hand.

“Everything okay?” She asked innocently.

“Sure, fine- well, actually, not really. That was- personal business I needed to take care of. I need to talk to Fury; you mind waiting here?”

“Alone?” Natasha asked, surprised. That was… a first.

“There’s a camera outside the door, as I’m sure you are aware. If you leave it will see. Plus, if you were going to kill everyone in the building you would have done it already, and if you are planning to hack into the servers and steal SHIELD secrets, we aren’t going to find that out by giving you a 24/7 guard. But please behave, I have twenty bucks riding on this.” Before Natasha could reply, he had turned and left the room.

Barton’s logic made sense in the nonsensical way all his logic seemed to run. He was right, if Natasha wanted to commit mass genocide there had been ample opportunities in the last three months. She couldn’t imagine that Fury would consider this the right method of testing if she was going to hack SHIELD, but he was right about the camera. It was placed perfectly that there was no avoiding it if she wanted to leave, and it was the only exit out of the room (the grate on the air vent was bolted down and she didn’t have the tools to remove it, that was the first thing she had checked). Instead she left the treadmill and started doing stretches in the centre of the gym.

Instead she thought about the call she had heard. Barton obviously cared about who was on the other end – family, maybe? No, Barton had said that his parents died when he was a kid, and when she had asked about siblings, his face had been telling enough. Not family then – a friend? Fury had promised… something, at least three months ago, and whoever it was, was now in hospital, or at least going. Maybe it was some kind of long-term illness, was someone dying?

She thought about Barton’s comment, a couple of hours in a jet. She wasn’t sure how fast SHIELD jets travelled, but a couple of hours from DC, where they were now? She drew a quick map in her head. Definitely not far enough to leave North America. Probably wouldn’t get to Cuba or Mexico, but he might be able to reach Canada. As for the US… her state geography wasn’t great, she could do most of the coasts, but the stuff in the centre? That wasn’t considered important knowledge in the Red Room. Despite that, she did know that the Midwest was probably around a two-hour flight East of DC, and Barton did have a slight twinge of a Midwestern accent in his voice, especially when he was tired.

So, best guess: a friend of Barton in the Midwest was finally dying after a long-term disease. He was going to try and convince Fury to let him fly out and be with them as they succumbed to the disease, which Fury agreed he could do before he went rogue and brought the Black Widow into SHIELD. He was going to see if he could get Melinda May, the daughter of well-known spy Lian May, and SHIELD’s resident badass, to watch her while he was gone.

Less than half an hour later she was proved at least partially right, when May walked through the doors and said that Barton had to leave, and she was going to be keeping an eye on her.

Barton came back three weeks later, tired – expected – and happy – unexpected. It that time, her leash had been loosened a bit. She now had free reign to wonder around SHIELD (apart from some restricted areas that she could probably get into if she tried), and could leave with supervision (that she could probably get away from if she tried). She didn’t, which she imagined was part of Fury’s test. Less than a week after Barton got back, they went on their first mission together; she saved his ass, he saved hers, she started calling him Clint, and he started calling her Nat.

It was about a year later when Clint took her on a two-hour flight to a farm in Iowa, and introduced her to Laura, his wife (what!?), and his year-old son, Cooper. She did not explain to Clint why she called Cooper a disease when Laura couldn’t hear.


	2. Pepper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during Iron Man 2, while Natasha is undercover at Stark Industries.

Pepper paused when she heard voices coming from her office. She had just finished a long and tedious meeting about her fitness to be CEO of Stark Industries, from the major shareholders with expensive suits and sexist ideals, and couldn’t understand why Tony would give away his company to anyone, let alone a woman. Pepper had tried her best to keep calm and discuss the changes she wanted to incorporate in the business, and tried to ignore the audible comments and barely-veiled insults.

It would probably be a bad idea to piss off every shareholder in the company, so she answered their questions firmly and as tactfully as she could, and ended the meeting half an hour early when she found her fist clenching slightly. She promised to herself that she would get better at stopping sexist comments about the way she slept her way to the top. When she was Tony’s PA, and the worst comments came from the women she had to kick out of Tony’s house in the morning, she could handle it. She just had to learn to handle shareholders and business partners, she thought, as she headed to her office.

It wasn’t until she had her hand on the door, that she heard the voices. She paused for a moment out of paranoia, and realised that it was actually only one voice; her new PA, Natalie Rushman, probably on the phone. But there was something… different about her voice. She hesitated at the door to her own office, finding herself listening in.

“-I am very sorry that I couldn’t come, but I just got a new job… what is it? I’m working for Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, you know, the people who own that big company” - a laugh, and suddenly in occurred to Pepper that she hadn’t heard Natalie laugh before. It was an odd sound, slightly husky but oddly nice - “Yes, I’m working for Iron Man… no, he doesn’t, does he?... So, how is your birthday?... Oh, really?” – another laugh – “You know, you should be nicer to your sister, she is only four…”

It suddenly occurred to Pepper that she was standing outside the door to her own office. She opened the door and went in, acting as though she hadn’t heard the last minute of her conversation. Natalie turned around from where she had been standing, looking out of the window, her eyes widening slightly in surprise at seeing her.

“Hey, I have to go, but happy birthday… Yes, well, I have work to do… I will, give my love to your mom and your sister… I’ll see you soon… bye.”

She smiled apologetically at Pepper as she hung up. “I’m sorry, Ms. Potts, I didn’t think your meeting was ending for another half an hour.”

“It wasn’t,” Pepper told her, “But it was shareholders, and the less time I have to spend with them the better. Was that family?”

Natalie nodded. “My nephew. It’s his birthday today.”

“If you wanted some time to visit…” Pepper suggested.

Natalie smiled but shook her head. “My brother lives in New York. I’m afraid that visiting requires a lot of time.”

Pepper nodded in understanding. “Thank goodness for cell phones, then.”

She still wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about Natalie Rushman. She was very competent, never left Pepper wanting, and had a large array of skills. Pepper hadn’t known that she had a brother, but that wasn’t likely to be something that Tony would have considered important during a background check, being more interested by her linguistic skills and underwear-modelling past. So, Pepper couldn’t say that anything was wrong, but there was something about her that just didn’t feel right. Not necessarily bad, just… not right. But she had a business to run, so she put that out of her mind in favour of stock prices and budgets.

After the Stark Expo and associated chaos, Pepper learnt that Natalie Rushman was actually Natasha Romanoff, a spy (“not just a spy, a Russian spy” Tony complained to her) working with the same agency as Phil Coulson. She wondered about the way the spy had smiled as she talked to her “nephew”, that couldn’t be faked, could it? But Natasha didn’t have a family. That little she learnt when Tony hacked SHIELD during New York, and after, when all of SHIELD’s secrets were online, her lack of family and connections were thrown around as more proof of her being a heartless assassin.

It wasn’t until after Ultron, when Tony said that he was going to hang his suit up, help the Avengers with his resources and mechanical skill, rather than his firepower, Tony told her about a farm in the middle of nowhere, where there were two small agents who called two of the deadliest assassins on the planet “dad” and “Auntie Nat”, did Pepper think about standing at the door to her office, listening to her PA laugh.


	3. Bruce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during the Avengers, when Bruce and Natasha are flying to the helicarrier from Calcutta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's a short chapter.

They were flying from India in a small plane. Despite the large number of agents who had surrounded the shack in Calcutta, the plane was empty except from the two pilots and Natasha, perhaps so that if Bruce were to lose control, less people would die. He was grateful, neither he, nor the other guy liked crowded places.

He was scanning through the files Natasha had given him – taking particular note of Erik Selvig’s research on the gamma signatures the tesseract would give off. His mind was already working overtime, calculating possibilities for locating it, the equipment he would need, when he saw Natasha Romanoff stand up. He glanced up at the movements, and she shrugged.

“Just need to make a call,” she told him, and walked to the end of the plane, perhaps to try and get a little privacy, although wherever she stood Bruce would be able to hear her.

He went back to his notes but watched out of the corner of his eye as she dialled a number into her phone before putting it to her ear. Bruce tried to concentrate on Selvig’s notes, but couldn’t help but listen as Natasha began to talk.

“Hi, it’s me… listen, I can’t talk for long, I’m on a plane… it’s a long story… please, this is going to sound strange but I need you to trust me, when was the last time you spoke to Clint?”

Agent Clint Barton, presumably, he remembered the name when he was going over the background files; the agent taken along with Selvig by Loki’s sceptre. A file on him had been included, but Bruce had ignored it past a customary glance. He continued to listen to Natasha, who had started talking again.

“Right, ok, that’s good… No, he’s alive… He was on a protection detail, but it went wrong… I can’t tell you much right now, but, brainwashing… Look, it’s- there’s no easy way to say this, it’s bad… I’ll get him back, but… You remember that emergency address I gave you… It’s secret, you’d be safe there… Bobbi’s deep cover, they can’t pull her out… Right now, it isn’t Clint… Please, I will get him back but right now you need to protect them… I will… I will… I- just stay safe, I have to go… You too.”

Natasha turned back around, and Bruce busied himself with his files. It would make sense to move high value targets that Loki may be able to use for his own purposes, especially given the fact he had a SHIELD agent under his control. But Bruce was not a tactics guy, all he knew about that stuff was from the James Bond movies he liked to watch as a kid, before they became a bit too realistic for comfort. Everyone was doing what they could, and what he could do was locate the tesseract. The only reason he even listened into the conversation was because that was the first time Natasha had strung more than three words together since they left Calcutta. He didn’t think about the conversation on the phone again.


	4. Thor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next up is Thor. This is set before Age of Ultron, but after the Winter Soldier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had a bit of trouble writing Thor, but I did my best. I hope that this chapter does him justice.
> 
> I also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who left a kudos, a comment or a bookmark; it means the world to me to know that people are actually reading and enjoying my story. Now, on with the chapter.

The roof of the Avengers Tower was one of the quietest places in the building. It was strange to think the God of Thunder liked the quiet, when his voice, his very presence was loud, but Thor did. It comforted him, to sit, staring out at the vast city, atop the pinnacle of thousands of years of human evolution. It was strange to think humans had such short lives, and yet they built things to last. Perhaps it was so that they could leave the Earth knowing that they had left a mark, something that would outlive them when they are gone.

Thor was 1500 years old, and still young for an Asgardian. If he had spent more of those years on Midgard, he would have seen empires rise and fall, the very city he could look over now being built up from a couple of small shacks. It was something that no one else on this planet could begin to understand. The Captain got close, to wake up to find 70 years had passed, along with his shield-brothers, but even he could still point out buildings from his childhood, places where he had been ‘beaten up’. The other Avengers would laugh, joke at his great age, but next to Thor even the Captain was a child.

So yes, Thor liked the peace of the roof. It was a place he could sit and think, which only he went to. Well, two people went to. He landed on the roof to see a figure already perched there. It amazed him, how little fear the Hawk had, perched on the edge of the roof; unable to fly, one slip could end his life, and yet he was just as sure of himself as if he were on the ground; his legs swinging onto open air as Thor’s did on the great chairs in Asgard as a child.

Thor was unsure if Barton knew that he was there or not. In battle, his awareness of his surrounding was parallel to some of the greatest of Asgard’s warriors, but he seemed to have little interest in using those skills in the safety of the tower, or, at least, showing them off. As it was, Thor did not think Barton was aware of his presence, even as he began to speak.

“That’s good, and you’re all fine? No problems, with everything?”

Thor realised that Barton was calling someone. He wondered if he should leave Barton to his call, but the roof was a large place. He understood why he would come up here though, Thor would often sit here to talk to Jane when they could not be together as it was a peaceful place. He settled onto the other end of the roof, but he could still hear the archer’s voice.

“It’s nice, you know, being an Avenger. For the first time it actually feels like I’m doing good, hunting Nazis and that damn sceptre. I mean SHIELD was… Yeah, exactly. But now, it’s no big organisation, no politics, no red tape, just shooting Nazis. I guess I like to know exactly who’s calling the shots… The team? Well, Nat’s Nat, you know what she’s like. Cap is exactly what you would expect; a good leader, impressive speeches, makes good calls in the field, doesn’t like bullies. Though he swears a lot more than you would imagine. And he cheats at poker, but then, everyone cheats at poker… I’m serious, we once had a game with nine aces.”

Thor remembered that poker night. It had been a very eventful evening.

“Stark is not as bad as he pretends to be, although he and Cap still occasionally butt heads. And he and Banner are very good at making me feel like an uneducated carnie… Yeah, I know I _am_ , but I don’t normally feel like it quite as much as when they are talking to each other… Thor?”

Thor felt his head raise slightly at the sound of his name.

“Is this where these twenty questions were going, to ask me about Thor?” A pause and then a snort of laughter. “Thor isn’t his brother. Plus, last week I flew Cap and Thor to the middle of the Nevada desert and watched them see how much stuff they could destroy together, from a safe distance… Oh, I decided about 10 miles was safe. It was impressive stuff, lots of lightning and explosions.”

Thor smiled slightly at the memory. Remembering what his hammer had done when it hit the Captain’s shield, they had decided to see what else they could do. He didn’t know Barton had stayed to watch, they had agreed to radio the jet when they were done, but it made sense given how fast he had reached them.

“Point is, he’s learned the great Midgardian art of sarcasm, and the tower hasn’t been the same since. But I didn’t just call to talk. Cap got a new lead on his friend, so he’s heading out with Wilson to check it out on Friday. Thor’s already got plans to fly off to London, and I think Stark and Banner are launching some satellite, so I get a free weekend… I haven’t had a chance to talk to Nat yet, so I can’t promise she’ll come, but I’ll try and convince her… yeah… sure… I love you…”

Suddenly Thor started to feel bad. This was a private call, and he may not have exactly been trying to listen in, but he hadn’t not either. He shouldn’t have been listening to this, even if it was an accident. Thor jumped off the roof onto the balcony below, leaving Hawkeye to whatever call he was making. Was it too late to call Jane?


	5. Wanda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda, set sort of post-AOU, but before the scene at the end in the Avengers facility.

It had been two weeks since Sokovia and Ultron – two weeks since Wanda had watched the city she had grown up in, the only place she had ever known, fall from the sky in a shower of rocks. It was two weeks since she had lost her brother.

She had spent the last two weeks in the Avengers Tower, in Manhattan, trying to get used to not felling the familiar presence that had been beside her for as long as she could remember. It felt strange, after hating Tony Stark for so long, to now be sleeping in one of his guest rooms, eating his food. The Avengers were mostly around the tower as well, although there were plans well underway to build a ‘New Avengers Facility’ upstate. Maria Hill, a competent and slightly frightening woman had agreed to run the facility, with the help of many ex-SHIELD agents drawn in by the lure of helping their heroes and Stark’s large wallet. They had also gained the aid of scientists; including Helen Cho, and a friend of Thor by the name of Erik Selvig.

As for the Avengers themselves: Thor kept talking about going back to Asgard, but seemed to be waiting until the facility was complete. He had admitted that he had many things to occupy him, and it was likely that once he left, he may not come back for many years.

Bruce Banner was still nowhere to be found, despite the best efforts of Natasha.

Natasha and Captain Rogers were planning to train and run the next batch of Avengers, and had been taking multiple trips upstate to oversee the building. They had invited her to train as an avenger once the facility was complete, and she had readily agreed.

Tony Stark had been busy. He had been central in designing, building and funding the facility. He had also come to Wanda, late one night, and asked her about Sokovia, and how best to handle relief and rebuilding projects. He had also designed her a new suit with a long, scarlet coat and corset to wear on missions. It was all nice, but it did make her wonder if the man ever slept. Given the amount of pain and nightmares floating around his mind, she suspected not often.

As for Clint, he had disappeared shortly after the battle. Wanda knew he was feeling guilty about Pietro’s death, although his mind had was difficult to get into. In a way, for the brief time she had spent with him, it had been comforting, not hearing every thought and emotion that passed through his mind. Vision’s was similar, and she had spent a lot of time with him over the last two weeks, relaxing in his presence. But she didn’t see Clint again until late one night.

“…according to Nat, it won’t be ready for at least another month. Even working at Stark’s speed, it’s a lot to get done… I’ll talk to her… She lost her brother, because he sacrificed himself for me. I don’t exactly know how she feels about me…”

That made Wanda stop. She had heard Clint’s voice talking, but he was talking about _her_.

“I’ll ask her… Yeah… I love you too… I’ll be home in a couple of days… ok… bye.”

He hung up the phone and turned around, looking straight at Wanda, like he always knew she was there.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi.” She walked a couple of steps closer to him, so that they were close enough to be having a normal conversation. “I didn’t know you were back.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t get in that long ago. Nat asked me to come in to consult on the security measures for the new facility, and I needed to pack up my stuff from the tower anyway. Kill two birds with one stone and all that.”

“So, what was it you were going to ask me?”

Clint’s lips twitched at her question. “Did you know I’m married?”

She shook her head.

“It isn’t exactly something I like to advertise, I have too many enemies.” He sat down on one of the chairs, which acted as its own invitation for her to join him. She obliged. “But I do, two and a half kids as well.”

“A half?”

“Two kids and a pregnant wife,” he explained, “but anyway, Nat says that it will take at least a month until the new facility is ready, and she and cap aren’t planning to do anything with the Avengers until then. I was wondering if you wanted to come down to the farm for a while. It certainly smells better than New York, a bit quieter too.”

Wanda smiled. “I would love too. And Clint?”

“Mmm?” Clint looked up, meeting her eyes properly for the first time.

“I miss Pietro, but it would be a dishonour to his memory to hate you for the choice he made.”

Clint nodded in understanding.

Two days later, they were on a Quinjet, heading towards his farm. Three weeks later, she cried as Clint and Laura asked how she would feel about giving Nathaniel Barton the middle name Pietro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, only one more to go. I hope you are enjoying, and I want to say another huge thank you to anyone who had left a comment, kudos or bookmark on my work - it really means so much to me.


	6. Steve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And one time the call didn't get through...
> 
> Set straight after the end of Avengers: Infinity War, before Avengers: Endgame.

They were leaving Wakanda. There was nothing more they could do, and their presence there was just a reminder. Not that there was anything that couldn’t be a reminder, with half the world’s population gone. T’Challa and Shuri were both gone, and so the Queen Mother, with the help of General Okoye was attempting to create some kind of census of their losses, and establish a little bit of order.

As for the Avengers, they had failed. Steve sat on the floor of the jet and hung his head. Sam, Bucky, Vision, Wanda, the tree – Groot. They were all gone. Stark was stuck in space, with a wizard and the kid from the airport, and there was no knowing if any of them were still alive.

“When we get back, we need to… we need…” Natasha started, but she didn’t, couldn’t finish. What was there to say?

“We have to get them back.” Steve said firmly.

“How, exactly?” the Racoon… thing asked. “If you haven’t noticed, Thanos is gone, and we can’t exactly follow him. I don’t have a ship and that would only help if we had any idea where he was other than the ENTIRE FREAKING UNIVERSE!”

Steve didn’t reply.

“Is your phone working?” Natasha’s voice sounded dry and hoarse, “Can I borrow it?”

“Use mine,” Rhodey said, holding it out to her. It was Stark tech, so something minor like the end of the world wouldn’t break it.

“Nat” - Steve started - “you know that-”

“Save it,” Natasha interrupted, but she didn’t sound angry. She knew, as well as him that that call was unlikely to bring anything good.

She typed in a number, and held the phone up to her ear as she waited. After a minute, she put it down without speaking, and tried another. And then another. And another.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” she said to the silent, watching audience. “He hasn’t been watching the news so much anymore, been leaving his phone in a draw. Maybe they haven’t realised anything is wrong?” The tear running down her cheek gave away her attempt at confidence.

“Does someone want to tell me who ‘they’ are?” The racoon asked.

“Natasha’s best friend,” Bruce said quietly to him. “A man named Clint Barton. He was at home with his family when this all…” Bruce didn’t finish, but he didn’t need to. Rocket understood enough.

They arrived back at the compound mid-morning. It was a sunny day, and that just seemed cruel, with the weight of everything that had happened. Steve wrote an official Avengers notice, explaining what had happened; people had the right to know. He already knew that the Wakandans had announced the facts, but he felt it was right to do so as well. He had Friday send it to every news station in the world.

When he was done, he looked around to see Natasha out of the window, heading towards the Quinjet. He hurried outside to catch her up.

“I’m sorry, Steve,” she told him as he settled into the chair beside him. “I have to… If Nate’s left on his own… I just need to know.”

“I know,” Steve said simply. “I’m coming with you.”

She turned to him and gave a small twitch of her lips.

The farm was deserted. Steve could tell that before they even left the plane. They didn’t even have to enter the house to see shrivelled, burnt things that may have once been hot-dogs lying on the grill of a cold barbeque. Closer to the house there was an arrow through the bullseye of a target hanging on a tree, a bow and quiver lying discarded nearby.

The front door was unlocked, and as Steve opened it, he was assaulted with the smell of too-ripe fruit. Natasha pushed past him to enter the house, and began to look around.

Sounds drew the pair to the living room, where the television was playing, a news reporter reading from a piece of paper. “-that was a message from the Avengers, echoing the information already given by Wakandan ambassadors, on behalf of the Royal Family of Wakanda. On further news, the President has issued a statement urging people to register themselves and any relatives or friends, in an emergency census to find the extent of this tragedy, but early estimates put the world death toll at around 3.8 billion – 50% of the worlds pop-”

The television turned off, and Steve turned to see Natasha putting down the remote. She was holding something in her hand, which she put on the table in front of Steve. It was mangled, twisted, ripped apart until barely recognisable, but instantly Steve knew what it was.

“Clint’s house arrest monitor.”

Natasha nodded, her eyes fixed on the mess of metal and wires. “He’s alive. It would have vanished with him otherwise.”

“So, he breaks out, then, what? Leaves? Goes to find someone?”

“This is more than just breaking out. A lot of this damage… it wouldn’t have been possible to do while the monitor was attached to his leg. This… this is anger.” She looks up and there are tears in her eyes. “It’s the kind of anger he swore to himself that he would never show in front of his family.”

Steve didn’t know what to say. _“I’m sorry”_ seemed too weak, but there was nothing else that he could even think of. Nathaniel, Natasha’s own godson, was barely three. He felt a surge of anger. How could anyone ever believe that killing people who could barely even be called children was saving the world?

Natasha moved towards the stairs, but Steve didn’t follow. Instead, he found himself staring at the pictures on the walls – drawings with _LB_ scribbled in the corner, school report cards, family photos. The photos were mostly of the kids, but there were some of Laura, Clint and even Nat too, and he even spotted a large group photo of the Avengers – it looked like it was from thanksgiving the year before the accords, before everything becoming a mess. Wanda had her arm around Vision, Sam and Rhodey were laughing about something or other, and Steve and Tony were there – talking to each other, and smiling. Steve’s chest got tight as he wondered where Tony was now, somewhere out there, lost in space if he was even alive.

Steve took another step forward to find something crunch under his boot. He glanced down to see an empty picture frame. It was small, and the glass was cracked from his boot. The back had been taken off and discarded beside it, the picture taken out. A memento – a last reminder Barton had taken before he disappeared.

He glanced around the room, trying to see if there was anything else obviously missing that Barton may have taken. His eyes found pieces of wood stuck in the wall above the mantlepiece, as though they had been supporting something. His normally perfect memory was failing him, and couldn’t remember what had been resting there on his last visit to the farm, over two years ago.

“A sword.” Steve was unsurprised not to have heard Natasha come down the stairs, and turned to look at her. Her normal composure was gone, her eyes bloodshot. “He kept a sword above the mantlepiece – a katana to be exact.”

“What did you find upstairs?” He asked.

“Clint took some of his clothes, and his usual go-bag was missing. Money was missing from the safe, as were his fake ID’s. The kids and Laura’s stuff were still there. He left, not intending to come back, and he left alone.”

Steve nodded. He had expected this, when they had found the ankle monitor. It didn’t stop it hurting. He turned back to the empty sword rack. “Do you think he took the sword with him when he left?” He asked, wanting something, anything else to think about.

Natasha moved to stand beside him. “If the FBI knew what was good for them, they would have taken it when they confiscated all his bows and guns.”

“Ornamental swords aren’t usually on the list of weapons confiscated during house arrest, are they?”

“Neither are bows,” Natasha pointed out, “and who said anything about it being ornamental?”

Steve raised his eyebrows, but Natasha either didn’t see or didn’t acknowledge the unspoken question.

“We ought to clean up,” she said. “Better for if he… if they come back.”

“When,” Steve corrected. “When they come back.”

They threw away anything perishable, cleaned up the barbeque and the dirty dishes. They then brought in the toys that littered the yard. “Should we dust as well?” Natasha asked, when they were finished.

“Unless we can get them back in the next week it will be pointless,” Steve said.

“Yes, but…” Natasha trailed off, and Steve realised that this had nothing to do with dusting. Natasha didn’t want leave, because that would be like accepting that they were gone, and that there was nothing they could do.

“We will get them back,” Steve told her.

Natasha looked like she was going to reply, when the phone in her pocket rang. She pulled it out, and Steve realised that it was Rhodey’s phone, the one he had given her on the flight back to the compound. The caller ID said “The Compound”. Natasha pressed answer, and then put it on speaker so that Steve could hear too.

“Romanoff and Rogers,” she said.

“How come the only cell you have between the two of you is mine?” Rhodey’s voice came across the line.

“Do you have something?” Steve asked.

“Maybe.” That was Bruce. “We found Fury’s car in New York.”

“Is he-” Natasha started.

“Gone,” Rhodey confirmed. “But we found something by the car. It’s a pager like we used back in the 90s, but all hyped-up.”

“Hyped-up,” Steve repeated.

“I’m still looking at it,” Bruce explained, “but the engineering – I’ve never seen anything like it. As far as I can tell it is sending out some kind of signal.”

“Are you at the compound now?” Steve asked.

“No, we drove down into the city when we located Fury’s car. We’re heading back now.”

“We’ll meet you there.” Natasha told them. “We’re finished here.”

Steve looked at her, but she only looked resolved, now that there was a slight chance of… something. They ended the call and headed back to the jet. Steve didn’t know then, as they lifted off the ground, but that was the last time Natasha would ever visit the farm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been amazing. The support from everyone who has left a kudos, or even just clicked on my story has been wonderful. I would like to give a special shout-out to zeeboomblebee123 for your lovely comment, reading it really made my day. Thank you so much. I'll post a new story soon.

**Author's Note:**

> I will put a new chapter up every two or three days - I have already finished the work, so you can expect frequent updates.


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